Reviews with content warning for Death - Život svatých

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Život svatých by Leigh Bardugo

36 reviews

talasterism's review against another edition

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adventurous informative inspiring mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

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elthechameleon's review against another edition

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informative lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

This book is good to read anytime after you complete the Shadow and Bone trilogy. It's good background knowledge to know for reading some of

Inej's dialogue and the story behind the Ice Court

before the Six of Crows duology. It is practically required reading before or during the King of Scars duology. This book alternatively spoke of worthy and merciful saints and some who died gruesome deaths. It does obliquely provide some commentary on religion, as I was reminded of some of the ghastly stories of saints I read as a Catholic growing up. Some of the stories can be explained by

Grisha power and some are due to good luck. It is hard to see this, especially after King of Scars, as an endorsement for a monolithic and irreproachable theological text. Aline's story is particularly fascinating, as it would have been impossible for a powerless Aline to come to the aid of the children. Praying does nothing in these tales

. My favorites include some of the stories that intersect with the main narrative, particularly those of Lizabeta, Grigori, Egmond, and the final two, which leave one with chills after reading. Another favorite is Magda, the patron saint of abandoned women; Leigh Bardugo does develop interesting women in her series. And it's fascinating that she chose to include Magda in this bound book, as a beacon for common, non-Grisha or noble women. Definitely worth the read. Do get it on audiobook, though. Ben Barnes, the actor who plays the Darkling in the tv show, reads half of the stories. His voice is sumptuous in these tellings, reflecting how these stories would have been related in the Grishaverse - lovingly snuck into your ear.

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some_random_person_hi's review against another edition

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3.25

Best. Art. Ever.

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courtneyfalling's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I really loved the illustrations, and I feel like this is a cool supplement to the Grishaverse series. But it did get me thinking a lot about the limits of Leigh Bardugo's political imagination and world-building in the Grishaverse, especially as it comes to replicating broad stereotypes of nations and nationalities, and in recreating versions of world history, political leadership, community tension, and death that set up the Grishaverse but never necessarily get unpacked/fully addressed within it.

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manarnia's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This book serves as a decent tie-in, but isn't particularly interesting in its own right. It's a very quick read though.

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woolgathering_jane's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Erase my name. Indelible is a word for stories.

When I first saw the cover of The Lives of Saints back in October 2020, I already knew I'll love this book. Just look at it! It's so beautiful I almost didn't want to read it, so I would ruin the cover somehow.
Well, I got over my fear and very slowly got through those few pages, mainly because it didn't feel right to read more than one short story at a time.
And I have to admit, without the cover and the stunning illustrations inside, this book surely wouldn't get 4 stars. I'm not even kidding when I say that I spent more time looking at the art inside than I did reading the actual stories.
The stories themselves weren't bad, they mostly weren't that good, although there are a few that stood out and that I still randomly think about. Saint of the book stood out the most and I've reread that one page many times.

But I have to say, I'm a little disappointed because the stories about Darkling and Alina weren't what I expected. I wanted to read their story in a way the "people" in Ravka would know it. About the tragic death of Alina, and perhaps the story about Darkling that his followers would tell me. This way, their stories were less interesting than the other stories, when I hoped for the opposite.

Overall, I definitely wouldn't call this the best Bardugo's work, but it's also not the worst. It just adds another beautiful layer to the world she created, but a layer that's not really needed. If you're a big fan of the GrishaVerse, It's worth it. Even if it was just for the cover.

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isabellew6's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

4.0

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I don't know how else to describe this other than luscious - it felt just like reading a book of fairy tales and for that reason was very nostalgic too. The illustrations were absolutely incredible. I also loved seeing more world-building, especially of Shu Han!
NB: Content warnings may not be fully comprehensive.

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valyn_grebe's review against another edition

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dark hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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thenovelmaura's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

Did I enjoy this book? Yes. Were the illustrations beautiful? Yes. Were the stories haunting and sometimes gruesome, in true Bargdugo fashion? Of course. Was this book worth $26? Absolutely NOT.

They sold it to me because I am an obsessive Grishaverse fan, an easy mark, a true pigeon (and also, it was a gift). But there are 27 Saints in here, and they each have a full page illustration, and many of the chapters are separated by a fake gilded page so that the illustration is on the left-hand side. So of the 121 pages, maybe 80 of those pages contain writing? I mean, add it to your collection if you must, but try to wait and see if they release it in paperback or something.

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